Simu Liu leads many lives. He's a superhero, a Ken doll, a one-time Fall Out Boy stunt double, a budding musician and he has recently branched out into the food business, where he's heating up beef with the people behind the now-closed Toronto restaurant Momofuku (which still operates locations throughout the US).
The GTA-raised actor is also the chief content officer at American Chinese food company MìLà. In response to Momofuku's legal team controversially sending cease-and-desist letters to businesses selling chili crunch sauces, Liu took to social media to call them out.
"Hey Momofuku, I hear you're bullying businesses over use of the term 'chili crunch,'" he wrote. "As Chief Content Officer of MìLà, I propose a blind taste test of both our 'chili crunch' sauces. Winner keeps the name, loser (it'll be you) backs off. Game on?"
He also took the opportunity to shout out a handful of Asian-American businesses selling chili crunch sauce.
Momofuku has been taking legal action against other chili crunch retailers since March 29, when they filed a trademark for the name — which many are arguing shouldn't be trademarked as it's a standard descriptive product name.
"When we created our product, we wanted a name we could own and intentionally picked 'chili crunch' to further differentiate it from the broader chili crisp category," a Momofuku spokesperson wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times.
Nobody from the company, including high-profile founder David Chang, has replied to Liu's challenge as of yet, but the MìLà's team has taken it upon themselves to complete the duel themselves on TikTok. Check that out below.
@eat.mila 🌶️ Our CCO @Simu Liu challenged @Momofuku to a blind taste test of our 'Chili Crunch' sauces. We're up for the challenge — are you? At MiLa, we're passionate about celebrating Chinese cuisine, whether it's through our creations or supporting other brands. There's plenty of room for others to share their authentic flavors and cultural experiences. Please check out the other small businesses and lend your support by sharing their stories. Join us by supporting small businesses, cultural authenticity, and friendly competition❤️🔥 #MiLa #soupdumplings #dumplings #chilicrunch #challenge #chilioil #dumplings #sauce #saucechallenge ♬ original sound - MìLà (蜜辣)